Review Tales
Trusted Reviews and Author Features Since 2016
Writing for bliss by Diana Raab (Book Review #266)
This, by far is one of the best books I have ever read. It is so organized and well thought out that everyone should have it. From preparing to write, cultivating self-awareness, speaking the truth, to finding your form and sharing your writing, the author displays a rich and well-worth learning experience for a writer.
The book even goes into detail about how you can write about sex and intimacy or write love letters and what to include when revising or editing a piece. There is nothing off topic and everything receives a well in-depth placement in this book.
Anyone searching for a therapeutic way to heal or to deal with trauma can benefit from this book. It encourages you to write a memoir and to keep a diary. I specifically loved how the author invites you to write without thought, making you realize later where your train of thoughts take you and how significant the outcome of it is.
I highly recommend this book to writers, psychology majors and anyone that wishes to heal through writing.
Written by Jeyran Main
This review was kindly requested by Underrated.com and the author, Diana Raab.
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Lalibela’s Wise Man by Matshona Dhliwayo (Book Review #248)
Lalibela’s Wise Man is a short book novella about Christian. His life changes when his father passes away. Christian is denied his inheritance. Not only does he have to overcome the fact that he has lost his dear father but now, he is disowned and abandoned by his family as well. His journey begins when he reads a letter from his dad asking him to travel to Ethiopia. Once there, he meets some wise men called, Lalibelas. Things turn for the better once he embraces on this wonderful discovery. Christian learns a much greater lesson and that is what makes this book special to read.
I found the characters to be very relatable and easy to bond with. Christian is very brave and likable. The book is mere 60 pages and so it is very short to include thorough world settings and details, however, what existed is a very sweet story, with a nice pace to it. The literature was easy to understand and I believe anyone reading the story would take away something important from it.
The book does have a sense of connection to religion embedded in it. It is not preachy but spiritually included. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a short fictional story.
Written by Jeyran Main
This review was kindly requested by Matshona Dhilwayo.
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American Civil War by William D. Willis (Book Review #249)
American Civil War is a non-fiction history book about America and how the deadliest wars effected its country. It covers subjects like how Lincoln ended slavery and how the Confederate were defeated. This book does not, by all means, cover an extent and in-depth version of the incidents. However, what it does cover is enough for someone who really has no idea about the topic.
The author expresses the wish to analyze the Civil War but unfortunately, the content did not cover anything analytically. The book is more of a historical telling rather than anything else and I recommend it to people that wish to have a quick read on the topic just to have an idea about the subject matter.
Written by Jeyran Main
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A Sense of Place by A P McGrath
A Sense of Place
Michael grew up in Liberia in the midst of its brutal civil war. His childhood experiences shaped him and made him what he is. I wanted to explore the idea that he had the freedom to think differently from his environment. He had the ability to strike out against its dominant mood because he wanted the world to be good and not characterized by the destructive madness of war. And he had the strength of character to do it.
I studied English and Philosophy at University College Dublin, but I also trained and studied as a photographer. In the late eighties, I had the opportunity to go to the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat and used my time there to take portraits of some of its people. Some months ago, after I’d finished writing the novel, I was doing a clean-out of the attic and came across the photographs which had been hidden away for many years. I was struck by the way they explore the intertwined relationship between character and environment. The looming Soufrière Hills volcano is in the center of the island and it becomes the backdrop to many of the photographs. However, in July 1995, the volcano erupted and destroyed most of the main habitable areas, including the principal town, the airport, and docking facilities. Two-thirds of the population was forced to leave, mainly to the UK.
I could see that the photographs of Montserrat might say as much about me as they do about the people in the photographs. The quality of the relationship between the subject and the artist is crucial. The ultimate skill is not in mastering the camera or having a fancy ability with words; it is getting the subjects to reveal themselves – even if the subject is entirely your invention.
About the Author
AP was born and grew up in Ireland. He now lives in London and works in TV. He is a single father with three beautiful teenage children. He studied English and Philosophy and then post-graduate Film Studies. A Burning in the Darkness is his first novel.
apmcgrath.com
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Southern Dust by Caspar Vega (Book Review #251)
Southern Dust is an old school pulp adventure using several narrators to tell an interconnected Southern story. The tale begins with Gretchen. She lives in Alabama has a cotillion coming up and she also is looking to find a husband. For those of you who don’t know what a cotillion is – it’s a French country dance, a social gathering that was popular in the 18th century. There is more dialogue than description when it comes to this segment of the story. However, what flows is nicely written and interesting to read.
The second part is the Governor. The tale is set in 2008 and appears to be from a diary. His name is Matthew Nightingale. The diary provides some information of Matthew’s life and is written in his own words. It covers his life as years go by- up until 2032.
The third part is about Roger Conaway, titled, ‘Sunburn’. Roger is sent to find a friend’s daughter. She has gone missing. Again, the story takes a turn as a first-person narrator and describes this short tale. The content is smooth and has a hint of humor in it.
The last part of the book is about Dominic White. He is seeking revenge over his murdered sister. Greif has taken over him. Black magic and other sorts of interesting aspects take over this tale.
I found the entire book to be extremely well written. I barely noticed any editing or structural issues. That made this collection of stories to be very well organized and easy to follow through.
I really look forward to reading more books by this author and would prefer a full single novel from him next time.
The literature standard was superb. Since the narrators were all from the first person, the stories had a personal touch to it. The settings of the story did not require much description and so the content covered more dialogue and backstory, which was sufficient in intriguing the reading for wanting to know more.
I recommend this book to people that like reading short stories and fiction thrillers.
Written by Jeyran Main
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Schizophrenia: Living in Your Own Reality by DR. James Okun
It is time for James Okun to pick our brain and inform us on some important medical matters. You can show your support by buying his books or leaving a comment here if you like- Jeyran Main
Schizophrenia: Living in Your Own Reality
Famous American actor Alan Alda dealt with his mother’s severe Schizophrenia by becoming extremely successful as a TV comedic actor. He is, in fact, best known for playing a doctor on the award- winning television program “Mash.” In 2005, he used his childhood pain to become even more famous for writing a book (“Never Have Your Dog Stuffed”) in which he described his early life having a mother who was a paranoid schizophrenic. “She thought people were trying to kill her. She thought I was trying to kill her very often, Alda said”. (Another Side of Alan Alda Sept. 16, 2005, abcnews.go.com).
David Berkowitz aka “Son of Sam” was a New York city postal worker who confessed to shooting and killing six people and wounding several others in the years 1976 to 1977. He claimed that “a demon” that possessed his neighbor’s (Sam’s) dog commanded him to shoot attractive young women with long dark hair. He was later also diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.
John Nash was a mathematical genius who was the subject of the acclaimed movie “A Beautiful Mind.” He also suffered from Schizophrenia but was “high functioning” even sharing the Nobel prize for Economic Sciences in 1994.
What possibly could all three of these people sharing the same mental illness have in common?
According to the poet, critic, philosopher and founder of the philosophy Aesthetic Realism Eli Siegel, “In all insanity, the ego is in a contemptuous and angry war with the rest of existence. And where there is anger, as I have already said, the solace of contempt is hoped for.” (TRO Number 167 June 9, 1976 www.aestheticrealism.net/tro). In Schizophrenia, according to Mr. Siegel, the personality opposites of “actual” and “familiar” are in “diseased opposition” to the “remote” and the “romantic” (Self and World p. 135).
In other words, the person with Schizophrenia lives in a reality of his own choosing rather than in the world as it exists. He has become “diseased in his self-exaltation.” (Self and World p. 143). As Mr. Siegel explains in Self and World on page 15. “I mean forthrightly to show that contempt causes insanity and as I have said, interferes with mind in a less disastrous way.” According to the third statement of Aesthetic Realism which defines the human tendency towards contempt “There is a disposition in every person to think he will be for himself by making less of the outside world.” (Erasing Scars: Herpes and Healing p.136 https://amzn.to/2a2rVxQ).
As a physician who has studied Aesthetic Realism for the past 32 years, I can attest to the fact that if you don’t do all you can to fight your unconscious desire to elevate your ego through making less of everything, not yourself (contempt), you will weaken yourself physically and mentally.
Per the World Health Organization (www.who.int) Schizophrenia affects more than 21 million people worldwide. According to NIMH (https://www.nimh.nih) the prevalence rate of Schizophrenia in the United States for adults is approximately 1.1% which amounts to approximately 3-5 million people. About 75% of the cases of Schizophrenia develop between the ages of 16 and 25 years of age with studies showing that “25% of those having Schizophrenia recover completely, 50% are improved over a 10-year period and 25% do not improve over time.” (About Schizophrenia sardaa.org).
Common symptoms of Schizophrenia include delusions (“a persistent false idea or belief” www.merriam-webster.com), hallucinations and movement and thought disorders. In the acute phase of this disorder, patients may hear voices, may believe other people are “reading their minds” and controlling their thoughts and/or may believe others are plotting against them if they have a paranoid component to their Schizophrenia.
Other symptoms of Schizophrenia may include a lack of motivation, a blunted affect or lack of emotion, difficulty keeping a job or forming relationships and a decreased feeling of any pleasure in everyday activities. Schizophrenics may also exhibit problems focusing or concentrating, problems making “executive” decisions and difficulty using and working with new knowledge immediately after learning it.
Risk factors include a positive family history, poor pre-natal care, difficulty during birth and various “psychosocial factors.” Further research into the prevention of Schizophrenia may lie in learning to understand the “battle” within all of us between our desire for contempt which can lead to insanity and our desire to respect as much in this world as possible.
Current treatments include antipsychotic medications and various psychosocial treatments. The good news is there is a great hope for Schizophrenia and other mental illnesses if we are willing to address and analyze our attitudes and emotions and study our aesthetic makeup. As Mr. Siegel states “A Large purpose of Aesthetic Realism is to have a person make up his mind as to the value for him of contempt and respect. Only through aesthetics as the oneness of opposites can he do this.” (Self and World Preface: Contempt Causes Insanity p. 19).
The study and introduction of Aesthetic Realism early in a child’s education could certainly help institute mental stability instead of instability as a confusing world could be better understood and not simply hated. To understand our 2 warring selves and the battle between contempt and respect within us would help to give us mental balance as “No self can truly know itself and be ashamed.” (Self and World “The Aesthetic Method in Self-Conflict” Definition Press 1981 p.98).
Written by DR. James Okun
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Eve Brenner Zombie by Alessia Giacomi (Book Review (#252)
Eve Brenner Zombie is the first young adult book, in its series. The story revolves around Eve and her two friends, Cam and Alex. All three of them travel to Egypt for some adventure. Eve mysteriously gets touched by something in a sealed tomb. She begins to see things psychically change about her and as much as she can hide it at first, the symptoms start to take over. Her mission then becomes to find out how she can humanize herself again and she isn’t alone. Her friends are with her all the way.
I enjoyed the dynamic between the three friends. The character development was accomplished very well. The teens were relatable and had flaws in their decision making. Their personalities were individualized which added to the realistic nature of things. I particularly appreciated the fact that the lead character wanted to maintain her human side. Her love interest did not dominate the story, which is what normally happens in YA books, and that added to the quality of the story.
The literature standard, for a debut novel, was outstanding. I barely noticed any structural of editing issues. The author has succeeded in maintaining sufficient backstory and descriptive content to support the plot. I believe this would and the material within the content is very suitable for the age and genre of its audience.
I recommend this book to zombie lovers and young adult fans.
Written by Jeyran Main
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